Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube announced plans Monday to team up to combat terrorism.

Their plans include the creation of a Global Internet Forum that has one primary mission: make Facebook, Twitter and other web-based services we use every day hostile for terrorists and violent extremists.

Fighting online fire with fire is certainly not an innovative concept. It’s also not the first time one of the leading technology platforms announced plans to fight terrorism. But it’s clear that some companies are stepping up the fight.

On June 18, Google announced four steps. It’s worth noting that Google owns YouTube, a member in the aforementioned Forum. Google’s four steps include:

Using technology to identify extremist and terrorism-related videos.

Hiring more expert reviewers in YouTube’s Trusted Flagger program. Rather than relying on machines and algorithms, this increases the human element in identifying terrorist content.

Taking a tougher stance on videos that do not clearly violate Google’s posting policies, but that contain inflammatory religious or supremacist content.

Expanding its role in counter-radicalization efforts.

To that last step, Kent Waller, general counsel at Google, said, “Building on our successful Creators for Change program promoting YouTube voices against hate and radicalization, we are working with Jigsaw to implement the ‘Redirect Method’ more broadly.”

Jigsaw, formerly known as Google Ideas, is Google’s think tank.

What Waller is referring to is targeted online advertising to reach potential terrorist organization recruits. Recruits are redirected to anti-terrorist videos.

“In previous deployments of this system, potential recruits have clicked through on the ads at an unusually high rate,” Waller said. “[They] watched over half a million minutes of video content that debunks terrorist recruiting messages.”

Google’s steps are impressive, but the level of cooperation among Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube in the creation of the Forum is laudable. Think of it as the CIA, FBI and the NSA actually sharing information with each other.

In the joint statement released Monday, Forum members identified their mission, and suggested that their scope will evolve as terrorists evolve.

Similar to Google’s steps, the Forum plans to focus on three primary areas:

Technological solutions. The group plans to create a shared database to exchange information, best practices, and implement new content detection to find terrorist-recruitment and radicalization content.

Research. To guide future technical and policy decisions, the group plans to conduct counter-speech research.

Knowledge-sharing. Similar to the “shared database,” the group plans to “work with counter-terrorism experts including governments ... to engage in shared learning about terrorism.”

It was appointment television. Forget trying to call her during the news. You could be in the same room, but you didn’t dare make a peep.

Grandma knew what she liked in terms of getting news, and she stuck with it. But she didn’t always agree with Cronkite and lamented the limited choices for getting news.

I suspect today’s choices would have excited her. There are a lot options for getting news and, well, the evening news is just one of many. We can get news in an instant in many different formats, and we’re getting much better at finding what we like.

We’re living in a world of insatiable information-seekers. We want more news and information. It doesn’t mean we always make optimal choices in terms of “where” or from “whom” we get our news, but it doesn’t stop us from searching.

Evidence for this can be found among the growing audience for podcasts.

According to a report released last week by the Pew Research Center, the percentage of podcast listeners in the U.S. has substantially increased since 2006.

In 2017, 40 percent of Americans listened to a podcast at least once.

This is up from just 9 percent in 2008, according to Pew. You can read the full report at pewresearch.org.

This could be due in part to the successes of popular podcasts such as narrative nonfiction hits “Serial” and “S-Town,” daily news from Marketplace and Bloomberg Day Break, or information with a twist from episodes of “No Such Thing As A Fish” and “Radiolab” (check out their CRISPR episode for some truly disturbing information).

Unlike radio, it’s hard to know exactly which podcast genres people are downloading.

Elisa Shearer, a research analyst with Pew, noted that data on podcasts “applies to all types of listening and does not break out news.” This is due to challenges with compiling information on podcasts, making analysis by genre difficult.

If, as the data suggest, podcast listening is on the rise, then it’s not hard to fathom a day when it surpasses terrestrial radio listening.

I suggest this is because we like news and talk radio.

According to Pew, the news and talk radio format is king in terrestrial radio. The percentage of radio listeners who turned to news and talk formats is at about 10 percent. Pop radio (i.e., Top 40) was second at about 8 percent.

Sure, terrestrial radio stations are making podcasts. But it’s important to note that podcasts can be created by anyone and we can download them for playback on commutes to work or when we’re working out.

Thanks to podcasting, we have choices – thousands of genre-busting, eclectic sources of news from around the world.

I started writing this column in June 2014, and I haven’t missed a week.

Yes, I’m patting myself on the back. That’s a small accomplishment for this big guy.

Nearly three years and a few extended deadlines later, I’m in a reflection phase.

Are we getting better at using social media or, as a friend recently lamented, will it be the downfall of society? Ironically, he posted his little missive to Twitter.

Thanks to the amazing and often forgiving editors at The Vindicator, I’ve been able to share some thoughts on life with social media and how it’s changed us, for better or worse.

The best part is that some of those thoughts have come directly from you – friends, followers, readers. Thank you.

In that first column (Adam Earnheardt is a Shameless Self-Promoter, June 29, 2014), I shared strategies for social media self-branding.

We’re constantly showcasing our individual identities online. In many of the same ways corporations are building brands and cultivating new customers online, we’re building an audience and sharing our thoughts on politics, sports, family and friends, dogs and cats.

As I noted in that column, we’re not always aware we are “self-branding” until it is too late. Some times we say or post something deemed inappropriate that causes us to lose friends. (To which one reader responded, “Well, they probably weren’t my friends anyway.”)

Losing friends is bad. But for some, the consequences may be far worse. Just in the last two weeks we’ve seen celebrities and political pundits lose jobs, endorsement deals and fans because of misguided social media posts.

Based on those examples, your answer to the question posed above (“Are we getting better?”) would probably lean toward that of my Twitter friend, prophesying about social media and the end of days.

I’m more optimistic than that. I like to think that we’re getting better at using social media to share with people who we are, who we think we are, or who we want to be.

I spoke to a group of residents at Shepherd of the Valley in Poland last week about creating their own social media identities. Some were already on Facebook, but others were looking to connect with the world in new ways.

One resident said, “I have 14 grandchildren, and all of them are online. I’m going to make one of these Facebook things and watch them freak out. They think I’m inappropriate at Thanksgiving. Wait [until] they see me on [Facebook].”

Another resident said, “I have so many recipes, but no one to share them with, and Facebook doesn’t seem like the right place.” I suggested building her brand on Pinterest.

These two users are evidence to me that social media is still a fun and interesting place to learn about the world and share a little about our place in it.

Bergen and her daughter, Morgen, started the specialty cookie business, One Hot Cookie, in downtown Youngstown in 2013. Business is good. They’ve grown to three locations, including shops in Niles and Boardman, and they have plans for more.

Bergen does all this while serving as the development director at YSU’s Rich Center for Autism, where she leads a half-million-dollar-a-year campaign to support children affected by autism.

I sat down with Bergen to talk about the upcoming DOYO Live conference (Aug. 2-3 at YSU), how she uses social media to connect with cookie lovers, and about crazy cookie toppings.

Q. I have to be honest. One Hot Cookie is one of my guilty foodie pleasures. My wife and kids call me a cookie monster. And I love how engaged your business is on social media. So, what’s your recipe for driving social media users to buy cookies?

A. It’s really interesting to see what posts get the most engagement. Facebook and Instagram have algorithms that are constantly changing, so working around those is always challenging.

We try and post a ton of pictures and to be authentic. I think it helps if people can identify a brand as someone they know or want to know, so we try to and have a healthy mix of cookie sales propaganda, hilarious photos of our Cookie Dogs doing their thing, actual photos of customer orders, especially late night downtown. Those are the best customer cookie creations, without a doubt.

We’re starting to focus on Internet sales more and more, and we’re experimenting with “boosted” social media posts to target specific demographics and locations, to broaden our reach outside the Mahoning Valley but still targeting regions that have a connection back to this area.

Q. What’s the weirdest cookie topping you’ve ever tasted?

A. Crickets. Hands down, the crickets.

Q. What? That’s crazy!

A. Remember a few years ago when the cricket farmers were in Youngstown? We did a Cricket Cookie for Halloween.

But, funny story, while we’re really good at making cookies, we’re not so good at roasting crickets. We kept baking these frozen crickets, tossing them in salt, and trying to find out what the “best” tasting roasting time was for these frozen crickets. That was the most disturbing taste-testing we’ve ever had.

We also did pulled pork on a cookie for a fun twist a few summers ago, but that one was actually really good.

Q. What’s the single most important ingredient to creating a successful business in the Valley?

A. The connections that you make are the single most important ingredient. In the Mahoning Valley in particular there’s no such thing as six degrees of separation. It’s more like two degrees, which is both slightly creepy and awesome. You never know what a casual conversation or social media comment can result in.

True story: a passing comment in a restaurant resulted in One Hot Cookie being the first tenant at Erie Terminal. Truer story: it wasn’t a restaurant. It was a bar, and I was a waitress.

So, the moral of the story: don’t underestimate or prejudge people or how you’re connected to them.

Q. You’re pretty active in the Youngstown community. How do you use social media to engage with the community?

A. I feel like in today’s world more people are “talking” on social media than in real life, for a variety of reasons, time being one of them, at least for me. It’s easy to engage on social media at your convenience whether that’s 5 a.m. or 11 p.m. —times when you wouldn’t or shouldn’t call or text people.

In that regard, social media allows you to be social on your time schedule.

Through social media I can stay informed about what’s going on in the community. I think that people can see who you’re connected with, through comments and likes, and networking becomes easier and more organic.

Once you realize you have common friends it’s easier to reach out and start a conversation, whether it’s about a community event or cause or something more business-related. In my opinion, social media sparks conversations and opens doors that would be nearly impossible or at least incredibly awkward to do in real life.

Q. I love your ice cream sandwiches. I saw a brownie-cookie ice cream sandwich on your Instagram feed the other day and my stomach growled. What’s your choice for the best ice cream sandwich cookie combo?

A. Aww, thank you.

I have a couple combos in my rotation: There’s the Cookies and Cream Brownie with Cookies and Cream ice cream and a double chocolate chip cookie on the bottom. That’s pretty intense.

It’s like a meal.

Then there’s the classic, our traditional chocolate chip sandwich with vanilla bean ice cream. You can never go wrong with that combo. It’s like your Grandmother’s pearls, always on point.

One of our newest additions to the menu is the Smash Cup, which is a milkshake, cookie sundae hybrid. It’s incredible.

But, when it comes to Smash Cups I go for the Salted Caramel Pretzel every time, which is funny because as a stand alone cookie, the Pretzel is one of our best sellers, but it’s not one of my personal favorites. However, as a Smash Cup, it’s perfect, all day long.

Q. I saw some recent One Hot Cookie cross-promotion on Facebook with Niles Residence Inn and Martino Motorsports. How useful are social media platforms in helping to promote these relationships?

A. It’s funny, both of those relationships started very organically from—wait for it—actual human interaction. But, through promoting the Residence Inn event we booked two graduation parties and a wedding—just from that post alone. So, that was a great example of showcasing what we can do when we take the show on the road.

It’s one thing to say “yeah, so we do graduation party catering” and it’s another to see the set up with the warm chocolate chip cookies and trays of specialty baby bites.

Martino Motorsports have been huge fans and supporters of One Hot Cookie since practically day one. When I started to tell our team that we were doing this and that it was tied to Ryan Martino, they didn’t know his name. But when I said, “you know him, he’s the Banana Pecan, no Pecan guy,” our employees in both Youngstown and Boardman knew exactly who he was.

From promoting The Martino we have been approached by other businesses for some co-branding and promotional opportunities. One in particular will launch in late June or early July. So, it’s been incredible to see how these two very organic relationships have multiplied tenfold simply from social media.

Q. DOYO Live is right around the corner. What will you be sharing in your talk?

A. I’m super excited to be part of DOYO Live this year. Dennis (Schiraldi, creator of DOYO Live) is great, and to go back to what we were talking about earlier about connections—I’ve got several connections to Dennis—and his positivity and perseverance have really driven this conference to a whole different level. It’s incredible.

In my breakout session I am going to focus on grassroots social media marketing. When my daughter and I first launched One Hot Cookie back in 2013, we were broke.

I feel like everyone has heard that part of the story before, but my favorite part of the story is when I called my dad and said, “I’m starting this cookie shop” his first response was not “that’s terrific, I’m so proud of you.” Nope. It was “you aren’t going to quit your job are you?” Which, I feel, was his roundabout way of saying “I’m not giving you any money so don’t even ask”

But, all that aside, starting a new business with a $0 advertising marketing promotional budget meant that we had to hit up social media hard, and in order to get organic, or free, growth on social media meant we had to be witty and clever and authentic.

So, my session will focus on our story of growth that is 100-percent directly tied to social media and the tactics we used that were wins, and of course what we’ve done that ended up being giant fails.

Author

Dr. Adam C. Earnheardt is professor and chair of the department of communication at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, OH, USA. He researches and writes about communication and relationships, parenting and sports. He writes a weekly column for The Vindicator newspaper on social media and society.